Bible League: Living His Word "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house."Jesus is the true light that gives light to everyone (John 1:9). As the true light, He is a beacon in the darkness that tells us and shows us the way we should go in life. If we accept Jesus as the true light, then we will reflect His life. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). We are the light of the world, as our verse for today proclaims, because we follow Jesus and have the light of life as a result. Just as a town built on a hill cannot be hidden, so the followers of Jesus are lights that cannot be hidden. We shine in the darkness of a sinful and broken world and people cannot fail to see us. Light defeats darkness: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5). Although the people of darkness may want to avoid the light, may want to extinguish the light, they cannot overcome the light. Just as a lamp should not be hidden under a bowl, so the light of life that is in us should not be hidden from those around us. Since light defeats darkness, the only way that darkness can win is if the people of light hide themselves. If we put our light under a bowl, if we refuse to shine in the darkness, then we will have given the darkness a victory it could not have achieved on its own. In contrast, just as a lamp should be placed on a stand, so the light of life that is in us should be placed prominently before those around us. Since light defeats darkness, the light of life that is in us will overcome the darkness if it is allowed to shine. Indeed, it will shine throughout the whole world. The people of darkness are so blind that they, as the Lord put it to Jonah, "cannot tell their right hand from their left" (Jonah 4:11). Today, have mercy, and allow your light to shine in the darkness. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJob 19, 20 Job 19 -- Job Feels Insulted, Craves Pity, Believes the Resurrection NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 20 -- Zophar Declares the Triumph of the Wicked Is Brief NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 9:23-43 Acts 9 -- Saul's Conversion; Ananias; Saul Begins to Preach; Aeneas and Dorcas NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” Insight Theologians have long been troubled by Jesus' allowing himself to be baptized by John. After all, this baptism was for sinners. Why, then, did Jesus do it? He did it because he is both God and human. He underwent baptism and even death as only a human could. He lived a sinless life and rose from the dead as only God could. This baptism by John in the Jordan River was another step in his identification with us sinful people; and the arrival of the dove signifies God's approval. Now Jesus would officially begin his ministry as God's beloved Son walking the dusty roads of Israel. Challenge When you are hurting, depressed, broken, remember: You have a Savior who understands your humanity. When you sin, remember: He has paid the price for your disobedience. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them.Behold the superlative liberality of the Lord Jesus, for he hath given us his all. Although a tithe of his possessions would have made a universe of angels rich beyond all thought, yet was he not content until he had given us all that he had. It would have been surprising grace if he had allowed us to eat the crumbs of his bounty beneath the table of his mercy; but he will do nothing by halves, he makes us sit with him and share the feast. Had he given us some small pension from his royal coffers, we should have had cause to love him eternally; but no, he will have his bride as rich as himself, and he will not have a glory or a grace in which she shall not share. He has not been content with less than making us joint-heirs with himself, so that we might have equal possessions. He has emptied all his estate into the coffers of the Church, and hath all things common with his redeemed. There is not one room in his house the key of which he will withhold from his people. He gives them full liberty to take all that he hath to be their own; he loves them to make free with his treasure, and appropriate as much as they can possibly carry. The boundless fulness of his all-sufficiency is as free to the believer as the air he breathes. Christ hath put the flagon of his love and grace to the believer's lip, and bidden him drink on forever; for could he drain it, he is welcome to do so, and as he cannot exhaust it, he is bidden to drink abundantly, for it is all his own. What truer proof of fellowship can heaven or earth afford? "When I stand before the throne Dressed in beauty not my own; When I see thee as thou art, Love thee with unsinning heart; Then, Lord, shall I fully know-- Not till then--how much I owe." Daily Light on the Daily Path Revelation 3:19 'Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.Hebrews 12:5,6 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; • FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." Proverbs 3:12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Job 5:18 "For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal. 1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, Isaiah 48:10 "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Lamentations 3:33 For He does not afflict willingly Or grieve the sons of men. Psalm 103:10-14 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. • For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. • As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. • Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. • For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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